Chapter 111

When Emperor Zhu Youzhen's personal expedition edict was proclaimed in the court of Bianliang, the senior officials led by Chancellor Jing Xiang almost fainted on the spot.

"Your Majesty! Absolutely not!" Jing Xiang knelt on the ground, tears and voice flowing, "To the north Li Cunxu eyes us hungrily, our main army is entirely in Hebei; at this time dividing troops to march south is nothing short of destroying our own Great Wall!"

"The Wang family holds Jiangnan, with favorable terrain and harmony among the people; their military preparations are extraordinary, far beyond what ordinary regional powers can match. In this war, victory is uncertain; should our forces suffer a setback, Li Cunxu will seize the opportunity to invade, and the state will surely perish!"

Zhu Youzhen looked at the old officials kneeling on the ground, weeping, and his irritation grew ever stronger.

All he wanted was to fight, to gain prestige, to make his name Zhu Youzhen renowned. How did it become, in the mouths of these old fogeys, a self‑invited death sentence?

"Enough!" Zhu Youzhen kicked over the case before him, scattering the memorials across the floor. "I've had enough of your timid, hesitant demeanor! You constantly compare me to Huang Chao; do you think I am inferior to a mere bandit? Huang Chao's failure against the Wang family is his own incompetence!"

"Wang Yan Zhang! Kang Yan Xiao!" he shouted at the two generals below the hall.

"Here!" The tall, stern‑featured general Wang Yan Zhang and another commander, Kang Yan Xiao, immediately stepped forward. Wang Yan Zhang is the lone remaining fierce general of the Later Liang army, brave beyond all peers, and has long been known as "Wang Tie's spear".

"I command you two to be the vanguard; I will personally lead the central army! I want all under heaven to see that the so‑called Wang family is nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs before my great army!"

"I will obey your orders!" Wang Yan Zhang, although he also felt that this southern campaign was not a good opportunity, being a warrior obeying orders is his duty; moreover, he harbors a pride deep down and does not truly believe the Wang family possesses the divine power rumored.

Thus, amid the opposition of all officials, the military officers repeatedly urged him to temporarily avoid the sharp edge, first solidify the defenses before planning further moves.

Yet Zhu Youzhen utterly ignored these unpleasant loyal words, waving his hand to suppress all opposition.

Determinedly mustering the last elite troops of Later Liang, totaling 150,000 men but boasting 300,000, they marched out of Bianliang in mighty array, heading south to attack Jiangnan.

During the march, Zhu Youzhen sat in an ornately decorated war chariot, lifted the curtain to gaze upon his neatly advancing troops, his eyes full of the light of certain victory.

He recalled the rise of Jiangnan's forces over these years; though he felt a hint of apprehension, he was even more convinced that his elite troops could crush everything.

He often fantasized with his attendant generals about the scene after victory—capturing Jiangnan's key strongholds, seizing the enemy leaders, and incorporating all of Jiangnan's wealth and land into the Later Liang domain.

By then, no one in the court above or below would dare question his decisions, and he would be remembered in history as a wise ruler of an age.

In his view, this war was destined to be an overwhelming victory; the Jiangnan forces were merely a stepping stone on his path to the summit.

But he did not know that he was leading the last fortunes of Later Liang headfirst into a nightmare carefully prepared for him.

……

Jiangnan, Xuan Prefecture.

At the highest command center of the Wang family fort, the atmosphere was solemn yet showed no trace of panic. On the huge sand table, the black pieces representing the Liang army had already densely crossed the Huai River, their sharp points aimed directly at Yangzhou.

Wang Po (Wang Xiu) dressed in black combat attire, holding a long rod, lightly tapped the sand table, his eyes calm to a frightening degree.

"Head of Family, the Liang vanguard under General Wang Yan Zhang, about thirty thousand strong, has already reached Chuzhou. Their main force is no more than two hundred li from us, and their marching speed is swift." Wang Tian stood to the side, her tone carrying a hint of gravity.

A 150,000‑strong army, with the emperor personally leading the campaign. This suffocating pressure is something the Wang family has never faced since its founding and its seizure of Jiangnan over a hundred years ago.

"Fast? No, he is still too slow." A flicker of coldness curled at the corner of Wang Po's (Wang Xiu's) mouth.

He lifted his head, scanning the core members of the Wang family within the tent. These individuals had grown up in the Wang family academy and military camps; it could be said that during Huang Chao's rebellion against the Tang, they had already thoroughly studied the military classics. Their faces showed no fear, only excitement and confidence at the prospect of the impending great battle.

Wang Xiu's consciousness, residing within Wang Po's body, could clearly sense Wang Po's soaring fighting spirit; he couldn't help but want to laugh.

Zhu Youzhen, Zhu Youzhen, you are a born fool. Your father Zhu Wen at least knew when to endure; your second brother Zhu Yougui, though licentious, only caused trouble within his own household. You, however, for the sake of a laughable bit of face, have dragged the last reserves meant for a showdown with Li Cunxu all the way here to me.

What do you think Jiangnan is? A backyard you can come and go as you please? Here the rivers, lakes, marshes, and hills—each one is your grave.

I previously sent money and grain, and even staged a grand performance, all to make you think I was afraid, to make you despise me—but you have greatly underestimated the Wang family, greatly underestimated the reserves we have accumulated over a hundred‑plus years.

"Everyone." Wang Po (Wang Xiu) spoke, his voice not loud but clearly carrying throughout the hall. "Zhu Youzhen thinks that by bringing 150,000 men he can frighten us, can trample Jiangnan flat; he is mistaken."

"War has never been won simply by having more troops."

His long rod drew a heavy line across the sand table, from Yangzhou to Xuan Prefecture, tracing a long defensive line.

"Our Wang family has operated in Jiangnan for decades. Every river here, every mountain, is our ally; for the Liang army, they are enemies."

"I have ordered that, north of Yangzhou, all prefectures and counties shall implement a policy of strong points and clear the fields. The Liang army can obtain nothing but burned‑out villages and empty cities. The provisions for their 150,000‑strong army can rely only on the supply line stretching hundreds of li from Bianliang."

"And our navy," his long rod pointed to the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal, "will act like a pack of hungry wolves, day and night gnawing at their supply line. I will make their troops go hungry; I will make their horses lack fodder."

"The Head of Family is wise!" the officers replied in unison.

"This is only the first step." Wang Po's (Wang Xiu's) eyes grew sharp. "I will not engage him in battle beneath the walls of Yangzhou. The plains around Yangzhou favor their large army's deployment. I will lure them here."

His long rod finally pointed to the northern part of Xuan Prefecture, a tangled complex of hills and rivers.

"Here the terrain is complex, the river network dense. Once their large army enters, it will be like sinking into a mire, unable to coordinate head and tail. Their cavalry cannot run here. Their numerical advantage cannot be brought to bear."

"And this place shall be the battlefield where we confront Zhu Youzhen!"

Listening to Wang Po's (Wang Xiu's) deployment, everyone understood that the Head of Family had already spread a net of heaven and earth, merely waiting for Zhu Youzhen to walk into it.

"Convey my orders!" Wang Po's (Wang Xiu's) voice suddenly rose.

"Command the First Army Corps to hold Yangzhou, using divine‑strength crossbows and new‑style artillery to harass the enemy, putting up a defensive posture, but they must not sally out for a decisive battle!"

"Command the Second and Third Army Corps, together with the Iron Pagoda and Divine Machine battalions, to assemble at the designated battlefield in Xuan Prefecture! Construct fortifications, lay 'land mines', complete all combat preparations!"

"Order the navy to set out immediately! Blockade the Yangtze, sever the Grand Canal! I will not allow even a single plank to reach the Liang army's hands!"

"Tell all the brothers!" Wang Po's (Wang Xiu's) gaze swept over each person. "We have raised troops for a thousand days to use them in a single moment! This battle is not only to defend our homeland, but also to prove to all under heaven that the Wang family does not seek hegemony because we are afraid!"

"Battle!"

"Battle! Battle! Battle!"

A fighting spirit like mountains shouting and seas roaring surged skyward.

At the same time, the Liang army's main camp.

Commander‑in‑Chief Wang Yan Zhang stood on a high slope, gazing afar at Yangzhou city, his brows furrowed.

"General, we have already reached the city walls; why not attack immediately?" Deputy Commander Kang Yan Xiao reined in his warhorse, could not help stepping forward, his tone full of incomprehension.

He looked at the not‑distant city; though the walls had only scattered guards moving back and forth, their number could be counted on one's fingers, yet our army's arrival had already awed the enemy—this was the peak of morale.

Wang Yan Zhang shook his head: "Something's off. Too quiet."

They had marched southward all the way, encountering only sporadic resistance that caused no major harm. Yet the closer they got to Yangzhou, the more strange it became. Along the route, villages were empty of people; not a grain of food, not a blade of fodder could be found.

"The Wang family is employing a strong‑point and clear‑the‑fields strategy; they intend to wear us to death." Wang Yan Zhang said in a low voice.

"The scouts we sent out earlier all reported that the villages along the army's line of march had already been emptied of people, doors and windows nailed shut, interiors completely bare—let alone grain or livestock, even a single pot capable of holding water had been taken away or smashed."

"Fields that should have been a sea of gold now consist only of plowed earth; the newly ripened crops have been completely harvested, and even scattered grains have been swept away clean."

"Are they trying to wear us out to death? They're too naive!" Kang Yanxiao sneered, "We have 150,000 troops, and our supplies are enough to last three months. A tiny Yangzhou city—we can take it in ten days!"

"I hope so." Wang Yanzhang sighed, but the uneasy feeling in his heart grew stronger and stronger.

Just then, Emperor Zhu Youzhen's Imperial Edict arrived.

"Convey Your Majesty's orders! Order Wang Yanzhang and Kang Yanxiao to launch the attack immediately! Within three days, Yangzhou must be taken! Otherwise, military law will be enforced!" The eunuch delivering the edict was none other than Zhao Yan, who had fled embarrassedly from the South of the River.

He was now strutting about arrogantly, as if he could already see Yangzhou's fall and Wang Po kneeling to beg for mercy.

Wang Yanzhang took the Imperial Edict, a flicker of helplessness flashing in his eyes.

He knew the Emperor had been clouded by anger and arrogance.

This war, from the very start, has been filled with irrational madness.

He turned back, glanced at the endless camp behind him with its banners fluttering, and suddenly felt an ominous premonition.

Of these 150,000 troops, how many will ultimately make it back alive to the north?

"Convey my orders!" He took a deep breath, suppressing the distractions in his heart. "All troops, prepare!"

"Attack at dawn tomorrow!"